Read the excerpt from “Birches” by Robert Frost. When I see birches bend to left and right Across the line of straighter darker trees, I like to think some boy’s been swinging them. But swinging doesn’t bend them down to stay. Ice-storms do that. Often you must have seen themLoaded with ice a sunny winter morning After a rain. They click upon themselves As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel. Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust— Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away You’d think the inner dome of heaven had fallen.What is the best description of the theme of this excerpt?
Answer
A
The sun is more powerful than ice and snow.
B
Birches are destroyed by both people and nature.
C
The sun has a wondrous effect on icy birch branches.
D
Ice storms are nature’s most powerful force.
Explanation
The speaker describes birch branches covered in ice, then shows how the sun’s warmth makes the ice break loose and fall like “crystal shells.” The vivid image of the branches shedding ice gives the scene a wondrous quality, so the best description is “The sun has a wondrous effect on icy birch branches.”
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